embroidery - CraftStylish

Did you know that one of the simplest ways to keep your machine in shape and increase the time that you spend stitching beautiful stitches is to change your needle often? Here are some simple tips to guide you towards getting the best out of your machine stitching.

This week’s embroidery term is weave fill, or the tiny stitches that are used to fill in an embroidery design. While there are several different kinds of fill stitches, weave fill is one of the most commonly used, especially when working with larger shapes or design elements.

Wherever I am, at home or on the road, I am always on the lookout for embroidery inspiration. Recently, right from the comfort of my own home in Connecticut, I came across this amazing blog on the Metropolitan Museum of Art site. And last month, I found plenty of inspiration at the Craft & Hobby Show in California, where I met up with my Craft Stylish colleagues and got to partake in one of my favorite pastimes: fashion watching.

After visiting the Plimoth Plantations’s website earlier in the week, I was inspired to dig out my own hand embroidery project.I love Lavender and Lace Designs, and I started this one a few years ago to celebrate my two daughters.

My friend Gail started experimenting with this cool thread to embellish a sweatshirt jacket she was working on. She used it instead of traditional decorative thread to stitch across panels of her jacket. After she was done, she steamed it with her iron. The thread shrunk up, creating interesting texture similar to smocking.

I love nothing more than stepping into my bathroom and being greeted with a fresh set of personalized bath linens. All you need to plump up plain-Jane towels and shower curtains is your embroidery machine and a bit of contrasting thread.

“Dongle” is such a goofy-sounding word, when I hear people talking about their dongles, I always imagine something silly like they’re referring to their latest fashion accessory. Actually, a dongle is the security device that allows you to open embroidery software programs.

Let's face it, embroidery is basically the artful application of a bunch of thread—I say that because it is so easy to forget how utterly confusing it can be when it comes to picking out the right brand and type of thread for a particular embroidery project.

Hi, my name is Jennifer Stern, and I am so pleased to have this opportunity to share my embroidery stories and adventures (filled with both designer details and character builders) with you. Oh, and be sure to check out the Pricked exhibit at the Museum of Art and Design.